Jeff Francoeur

Last September, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin sat in his office at the end of the hallway that leads to the team's dugout at Citizens Bank Park and made a plea to the front office.

He wanted two "professional hitters" for his line in 2017.

Phillies General Manager Matt Klentak obliged. He traded for Howie Kendrick in November and then signed free agent Michael Saunders in January.

The offense struggled mightily last year and with impressionable youngsters in the lineup, Mackanin's hope was that putting two veterans, who knew how to work counts and give consistent at-bats, would benefit everyone for the first half of the year.

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